A Second Chance Life
by Megan Hale
Summary: Rose Tyler is running away from her life with the Doctor's Clone when she hears it... The sound that brings hope wherever it goes. SPOILERS GALORE! Pre-50th! Post-Journey's End, but you know, Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **Yes, hello I am back and writing Fanfiction instead of studying for my Spanish exam tomorrow (HURRAY!) Just really needed to get some DW fanfiction out there after the celebration of the 50th, and I am introducing a story which shall eventually include my Ultimate TARDIS team!

Enjoy!

- MH

* * *

It was a warm and windy day when Rose found herself boarding a jumbo jet to America. Her eyes were droopy and her bag felt heavy on her shoulder. As she walked down a large corridor toward her boarding gate, she passed a large window, letting the first rays of the early morning sun catch the light of her blonde hair on her shoulders. She sighed, turning her face away and continuing on to her plane.

In their flat several miles away, Rose's mother, Jackie, remained asleep, unaware of her daughter's intentions. In another room of the same flat, a man lay asleep, a man with dark, messy hair, and brown eyes. It was once said that he was so thin that if you hugged him, you would get a paper cut. He breathed slowly and peacefully, utterly unaware that the woman he loved was moments away from moving thousands of miles away from him.

He was the almost perfect clone of the man that Rose loved. Almost. But he was not the same man.

This was why Rose was leaving the UK. She couldn't bring herself to live there anymore. She couldn't wake up each morning being reminded of the life she could no longer have. The Doctor's Clone, or John Smith, as he was known in the human world, knew Rose. He knew all about the adventures that she had shared with the Doctor. He knew, even though they would never talk about that awful time, all about the day that the Doctor lost Rose to another universe, and how he burnt up a sun to say goodbye to her.

Still, Rose couldn't get over her loss of the Doctor. While she finally knew that the human Doctor loved her as the real Doctor did, she couldn't help but long for her life in the TARDIS, travelling through time and space and saving the universe. Saving many different universes.

She had just approached the not-so pleasant-looking lady taking everyone's boarding passes when she heard it. It was so quiet that she thought that it was part of her imagination at first. But there was no mistaking it. The sound like the heavy breathing of the nearly dead. The sound of hope. The sound of time itself. It was him. A huge smile broke out across her face and she turned and ran, leaving a stunned family of people staring at her and she dashed back down the corridor, searching for the familiar blue box.

Eventually, she found it, settled in a corner behind a rather large, fake tree. She was just about to knock on the door when a man walked out. But it was an unfamiliar man. He was dressed rather eccentrically, with a bow tie and red suspenders. A red fez sat atop his head full head of dark hair. His eyes widened when he noticed her. Her eyes widened when she noticed his.

"Rose," he whispered, barely audible.

"D-doctor?" It came out as more of a question than a statement.

"Y-yes," he replied, reaching out a hand to gently touch her cheek.

It was silent for several moments as each of them stared into the other's eyes, searching for something there that would explain how they had come to this moment.

Suddenly, a voice came from the inside the TARDIS. "Doctor, where is it we've landed this time? God knows we never make it to the right place." As she spoke, she came to the door, and Rose saw her for the first time. A beautiful red-haired girl with a Scottish accent. Her eyes grew confused as she noticed Rose, who immediately pulled away from the Doctor's hand and cleared her throat.

"Oh, so you must be his new…" she trailed off, not sure how to say it. Her eyes met the ground.

"What? No, I'm not. I'm married. To another man. To this man, actually," she explained, as another man came to the door. Blimey, how many did the Doctor have with him now?

"I'm Amy, and this is Rory. Who are you, exactly?"

"Amy, Rory, go back inside and distract your daughter for a moment, won't you?" The Doctor suddenly spoke and Rose was surprised at his new voice, even though she really shouldn't have been.

"Why? Is she your ex-girlfriend or something?" Amy asked, half-joking.

"Just do it!" The Doctor groaned, exasperated.

"Do what?" Came another voice from inside the TARDIS, and Amy and Rory moved out from the doorway to reveal a woman with crazy hair, sultry eyes, and a mysterious smile.

Rose looked at the Doctor, who looked so uncomfortable that Rose thought he would just shrink away and disappear before her eyes.

"River Song… meet Rose Tyler," he said in a small voice, gesturing between them vaguely.

River's face changed at once, into an expression of shocked recognition. "You're… Rose?" she asked, drawing closer to her, still with that look of awe.

"As far as I know, yeah," Rose replied.

Suddenly, River hugged Rose. Rose awkwardly gave her a pat on the back.

"Can I ask, who exactly are you, River Song?"

River pulled back, a slight look of pity in her eyes. "I'm the Doctor's wife."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**- I think this is the quickest that I've ever updated a story ever! In fact, you might even expect to see a Chapter 3 sometime later tonight, as I have a 4 hour car ride to look forward to!  
Thanks very much for the encouraging response I received for Chapter 1!

- MH

* * *

"Where is he?" The Doctor asked, eyeing Rose's bag suspiciously.

"Who?" She pretended not to know who he was talking about.

"Oh, come on. I know I'm after that point in your timeline. Where is he? The Duplicate of the old me?"

"He's… It doesn't matter. Why do you care? And when did you get married?" Rose asked accusingly, a slight bit of hurt crossing her features.

The Doctor seemed, uncharacteristically, out of words.

They had moved back into the TARDIS so as to avoid making a further scene in the airport, although a few shocked eyes still caught sight of the five of them moving into the tiny box. Rose was uncomfortable with the new look of the TARDIS. Some of it was familiar, like the console in the middle of the room, but it just looked so… different.

"Perhaps we should… leave you all alone for a bit," said Amy, grabbing Rory's hand and hoping to make an escape.

"No, wait." River stopped them. "Rose, I'd like to show you something."

She grabbed Rose hand, and they both gave one last fleeting look at the Doctor before continuing out of the control room and down the hallway quite a ways. Rose recognized it as the route she always took to her room when she used to stay on the TARDIS with the Doctor, and was surprised when River stopped at her door.

"Isn't this - ?" she started, but River cut her off.

"Just look inside."

Rose tentatively reached out and pressed the button that opened the door to her old room, and she stepped inside to find it exactly as it had been the day that she stepped out of the TARDIS to find the Army of Ghosts. Her old bed, completely unmade with the sheets and blankets strewn everywhere. A collection of makeup on an old wooden dresser, and next to her makeup looked like a book lying open.

She didn't recognize it, but as she approached, she could see a very rough sketch of a face staring out at her from the page. Her face. She closed the book, trying to find the title, to understand what it was, but there was nothing. It seemed like a journal. She opened again to try to decipher the scrawl that lay around her head. All she could work out was a small bit of writing in the bottom corner. "_I lost her."_

"What is this?" Rose asked, turning to River, who stood in the doorway, watching her.

"It's the journal he kept, when he wiped his memory and rewrote his DNA to hide as a human for a little while. When he was still the Doctor that you knew. He used to dream things about his Timelord life and write them down in that journal. Most of his dreams were about you."

Rose swallowed. "Okay. But why are you showing me this?"

"Look around you," River told her. "The TARDIS has saved this room in this same place. It would only open for two people. You, and the Doctor. Your version of the Doctor, he never stopped loving you. And that clone you've got now, he's that man, the man that held on to your room in his TARDIS, and dreamt about you when he couldn't even remember who he was. But the Doctor that is standing out there now is not the same man. He remembers you. And he does love you, Rose. But that's not him, anymore. Do you understand?"

Rose nodded, tears running down her face. Why had she ever thought of leaving him behind? How could she have left her Doctor?

Several minutes later, a smiling River Song and Rose Tyler walked into the control room, hand in hand. The Doctor eyed them both suspiciously.

"What have you two been up to?" he asked.

"Doctor, I need a lift, if you don't mind," Rose said, ignoring him.

He narrowed his eyes. "Where to?"

"Home, obviously. If we're going on an adventure, I'd like him to be with us."

"Him who?" Amy whispered to Rory, feeling as though she should have been lounging with some popcorn, the mystery was just too great.

"She means the other Doctor," the Doctor replied, to which Amy's eyes widened.

"What, you mean there's another one of you?"

"Yes. Well, no, not exactly."

Amy just stared at him, awaiting an explanation, which he didn't provide. Instead, he flipped some switches on the console, and everyone grabbed ahold of something as the TARDIS jolted into flight. The movement was comforting to Rose, and she smiled at the new Doctor. As soon as they landed, she moved to the door, but she stopped before she opened it.

"You'll wait for me this time, yeah?" she asked.

"Well, he's not leaving without me, and I want to see this so-called 'other Doctor,'" Amy proclaimed, moving past Rose and opening the door to the TARDIS. Outside, Rose could see her home.

She ran up the stairs with Amy close behind her, and the others following along as well. Rose reached her door, and turned the handle, rushing inside and yelling excitedly. "Doctor! Mum! Get up, you won't believe who's here!"

"Rose!" Amy called, tentatively. "Rose come back out here, now!"

Rose made her way to the door, her smile fading. You can come in, if you –" She was stopped in her tracks, however, when she noticed Amy staring at something. A statue, not far from the door to Rose's flat.

"What is that?" she asked in a small voice.

"It's an angel."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Wow. Can't believe I'm writing so much. Just got home from school! Good news, this new chapter happened! Bad news, you might not get any more until Sunday, when I drive back. Also, when I get back, I'll have finals to study for, so honestly, if you see any chapters the second week of December, you should make me feel bad for not studying!

Thank you all for the overwhelming response! Every time I get an email, I get all happy!

- MH

* * *

"Whatever you do, Rose, don't blink," Amy warned.

"But why? What does it do?" Rose asked, confused.

The Doctor (the new one, that is) was now at her side. "It's called a Weeping Angel. They're incredibly fast, but they can't move if they can be seen. But if they get you, they zap you back into a random point in time, and you're made to live the rest of your life there," he explained.

"Then we have a problem, Doctor, because there was another one standing in the living room. I thought it was some cheesy Christmas decoration Mum was going for this year."

She suddenly turned and bolted back into her flat, going directly to the room she shared with her Doctor. Her stomach dropped when she found that the angel in the living room had moved, and was just around the corner from the front door. She stared at it, willing her eyes not to close, not even for a millisecond.

"Doctor!" she called, and the new Doctor came running inside. "No, sorry, not you. But while you're here, watch this one, will you?"

With the confidence that the Doctor would watch the angel, but without the slightest bit of confidence that her Doctor, her John Smith, would be awaiting her in their room, she turned and made her way the few steps down the hallway, finding the door standing open, and the bed empty. She swallowed her nerves and turned around to face her mother's room, the door to which was also open. No sign of Jackie, either.

Back out in the living room, and with tears lining her eyes, she found the new Doctor, still staring at the angel.

"Rose, I think it might be best if we got out of here," he told her.

She nodded, and they back out of the room, eyes still focused on the angel, with its eyes uncovered and face pulled back in a snarl. It was attacking.

Outside the door, they found Amy, Rory, and River watching the other angel.

"Keep watching it," the Doctor announced. "But come with us. We're going to get back to the TARDIS.

"You're going to save them," Rose said.

He didn't answer.

"Aren't you?" she clarified.

"Rose, I – "

"YOU'RE GOING TO SAVE THEM. You have to save him. You left me on that godforsaken beach with nothing left of you but him and my memories, and guess what, Doctor? My memories aren't enough! And now you've gone off and changed, and I need the Doctor that loves me. So, YOU ARE GOING TO BRING HIM BACK TO ME." Her sudden outburst stunned everyone, and they stopped in their retreat from the angel.

"I'm going to try," he told her, with sad eyes. He wrung his hands, and ducked his head down.

A few moments of silence passed as everyone looked at each other. Finally, River asked, "So whose turn was it to watch the angel?"

They all turned, and found the snarling faces of two Weeping Angels just meters away from where they stood.

"Right, TARDIS. Now."

Once back inside the safety of the mad man's blue box, River joined the Doctor at the console, while Rose, Amy, and Rory sat down together on the steps.

"Are you going to be able to find him?" she asked, in a hushed voice.

He sighed. "I don't know. They could be anywhere in time. But there is one thing that I promised myself, and I don't intend to break this promise, I won't let Rose Tyler down any more."

"You won't."

"How do you know?"

"Spoilers." River winked at him.

"You know River, secrets are the fastest route to a failed marriage."

"You said they could be anywhere in time, but they can't be, because the angels only zap to the past. That narrows the field down tremendously," River proclaimed, ignoring him.

"Right then, so they could be anywhere in the world, probably within the last 2000 years," The Doctor said, still a note of hopelessness to his voice.

"So, the question is, Doctor, the old you. What would he do if he lost his Rose?" River asked him.

It only took him a moment before the look of realization dawned on his features. "He'd burn up a sun just to say goodbye. And that goodbye would be on the beach. Bad Wolf Bay. Of course!"

River stepped back with a sly smile on her features as the Doctor pulled the screen up in front of him, looking for any correlation between a sun and Bad Wolf Bay. Finally, he found it.

Pressing buttons and pulling levers, the Doctor set their course. Rose jumped up and joined him by the console.

"Where are we going? Have you found him?" she asked, urgently.

"Why don't you go look for yourself?" he responded, smiling brightly at her.

She ran to the door, flinging it open, but as soon as she set sight on their surroundings she turned back.

"This place. Why would you bring me to this place? Every time we're here, you say goodbye. Have you come to just dump me off again?"

"No, I – " he started, but was interrupted by a voice at the door.

"He was bringing you back to me, actually, I think."

Rose spun around, seeing the familiar face that she thought she had lost forever smiling down at her. Her smile shined like the sun, and she flung her arms around him, her lips finding his.

Several moments and a few uncomfortable clearing of the throats later, Rose looked back around at the new Doctor.

"Alright, I know that you're dying to tell us how you did it. How'd you figure out where they were?"

"Why don't you go look?" The Doctor told her, pointing out the door.

Her version of the Doctor smiled, leading the way. It took her a few moments, but eventually she realized that the TARDIS had landed in the middle of a circular formation of boulders. Not just a circle though. The boulders were arranged in the pattern of a burning sun.

She turned to her Doctor. "A sun? But why?"

"Because the first time I lost you, I burnt up a sun just to say goodbye. We said goodbye in this exact spot, Rose Tyler. So it's only fitting that this time, we'd say hello," her Doctor explained.

Several silent moments passed between them.

"So, where's Jackie, then? I'd quite like to say hello. From a distance, of course. She hasn't had a chance to slap this face, yet." The new Doctor had come out onto the windy beach, followed by River, Amy, and Rory.

"What do you mean, 'where's Jackie'?"

"You mean she's not with you?" Rose asked, with a panic.

"No, I thought she was still back in the flat. You mean the angels zapped her back, too?"

They all shared a look of pure panic before rushing back into the TARDIS.


End file.
